Tigers No. 19 in first College Football Playoff rankings

LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles claps for his team during pregame warm ups on the field prior to kickoff against the Mississippi Rebels at Tiger Stadium. LSU defeated Mississippi 10-7.(Photo: Crystal LoGiudice, USA TODAY Sports)

BATON ROUGE – LSU has 15 spots to move up by December if it is going to reach the first final four as selected by the committee of the College Football Playoff for the first time on Tuesday night.

The two semifinals are on Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The national championship game will be on Jan. 12 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The 19th-ranked Tigers (7-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) beat one of the teams in the first final four vote on Saturday in Ole Miss, 10-7. The Rebels (7-1, 4-1 SEC) were voted No. 4 Tuesday night. And the Tigers play No. 6 Alabama (7-1, 4-1) a week from Saturday at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium on CBS. Mississippi State (7-0, 4-0), which beat LSU 34-29 on Sept. 20, was voted No. 1 with No. 2 going to Florida State (7-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). No. 3 was Auburn (6-1, 3-1 SEC), which defeated LSU, 41-7, on Oct. 4.

The Tigers are the second to highest ranked team in the first poll with two losses. Oklahoma State (5-2) is No. 18.

PRACTICE AND A MOVIE: After taking Sunday and Monday off, the Tigers returned to practice on Tuesday.

"It was a back-into day after two days off," LSU coach Les Miles said. "Special teams and good versus good. Not really a game plan involved with an opponent, but just kind of some competition. It was a nice practice. Short. We took the time today to watch the film of last Saturday."

Miles took away one key statistic from film study. LSU lost the turnover battle by three as it had four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles) to one (interception) by Ole Miss, and still won.

"If that defense doesn't play well, it's a completely different ending," he said. "The good news is we'll have some time to correct that. There was a way for us to make that game a very enjoyable evening. Of course, it was an enjoyable evening any way, but we could've made it a little bit less suspenseful."

The Tigers could have taken a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but Colby Delahoussaye missed a short field goal and tailback Leonard Fournette fumbled at the 1-yard line. Instead, LSU trailed 7-3 at the half and after three quarters.

"To correct those things and fix it is what we need to do," Miles said.

GODCHAUX TALKS: LSU true freshman defensive tackle Davon Godchaux was ejected from the Ole Miss game with 1:44 remaining after drawing his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

"I think he enjoys the ability to communicate after the whistle," Miles said. "And I think that is generally a problem."

INJURY REPORT: Tailback Terrence Magee was poked in the eye in the third quarter of the Ole Miss game and did not return after gaining 74 yards on 12 plays and catching two passes for 45 yards. "It was an inadvertent finger in the eye," Miles said. "He's fine. He'll practice at the end of the week."

MARTHA MILES FUNERAL: A funeral service for Miles' mother Martha Miles, who passed away Friday at the age of 91 in Baton Rouge, will be held Thursday in Baton Rouge.